More Plein Air

I painted a drab, crooked building on a very cold, gray and misty morning by Lake Merritt. And then afterwards I got breakfast at a diner and everything was fine.

Plein Air Paintings

I’ve been painting en plein air the last few weeks with Dice Tsutsumi, Robert Kondo, and Shelly Wan, who have been kind enough to let me tag along on their weekly outings. It has been, at the same time, both horrifying and wonderful. I sweat the entire time. My hands tremble. I develop a stutter.

…this is the stuff of inspiration!

It’s been terribly foggy and overcast in the mornings, so the lighting hasn’t been very exciting. But at least it’s been consistent. More to come…

Beautiful Blood, the Mini-Comic!

Hey internet-ers. I recently finished a mini-comic for the Portland-based indie rock band The Crash Engine. Their latest album, Beautiful Blood, is pretty fantastic and you should go and listen to the LP sampler on their Facebook page right now. The entire album won’t be released for a couple of months. Here’s a few tidbits from the comic:

This was such a swell project to do for an equally swell group of guys. I’ll talk more specifically about it once I get a physical copy back from the printers, but in the meantime enjoy these sample images. And check out that music!

Diver

Here’s a sketch connected to some ideas I am working out for APE related goodies.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July holiday weekend! It’s always been one of my favorites. I’m headed up to Portland to celebrate with some excellent food, friends and libations.

A Preview

Here is a little preview of something I am working on for Alternative Press Expo this year. Man, it’s been too long since I’ve drawn comics. I’ll continue to post little teasers here and there as the con approaches…

The Birds

Here’s a little something for your Friday. Have a great weekend, y’all.

Junk Buildings

Here are a bunch of thumbnails I did in my sketchbook for a particular building I wanted to design. I love this stage; just playing with shape, allowing the brush to make stray marks, following them down the rabbit hole. This is the best way to free myself from prematurely obsessing over details and allow for “surprises” in the design.

There is a lot of emphasis on silhouette in animation and design in general, and for good reason. But I think it’s often preached to the point of formula and gimmickry. It’s important to remember that it’s just a tool and it serves a context. It’s relatively straightforward to come up with an interesting silhouette. But when the design is fleshed out, when it’s “turned” in space, does it still work? Not always. I almost always revisit the basic shapes even after I’ve followed a good silhouette into the rendering phase, working back and forth until I find the best solution.

Remember that old geometry rule? “A square is always a rectangle, but a rectangle is not always a square.”

Well, think of it this way: “A good design will always have a good silhouette, but a good silhouette will not always be a good design.”

Here Be Gators…